Tom Massie's theory of Congress, in a worthwhile profile from @mepfuller.bsky.social of how he was never quite as much his own man as he'd like to think (but Justin Amash was). www.ms.now/news/thomas-...
Matt Fuller
@mepfuller.bsky.social
Director of Congress at MSNOW. Past Lives: NOTUS | The Daily Beast | HuffPost | Roll Call | CQ | King Nebuchadnezzar II
One interesting wrinkle of reconciliation: You have two major GOP factions with entirely different ideas of what the final bill will look like. Both groups are counting on Trump to screw the other guy. And no one knows who will be *the other guy*. www.notus.org/congress/rep...
Republicans Made Conflicting Deals on Reconciliation. They’re Counting on Trump to Resolve It.
Conservatives insisted they need major spending cuts in the reconciliation bill. Vulnerable Republicans said they couldn’t stomach those cuts. For the bill to pass, both factions have to vote for it.
notus.org
If you're helping to fill out that big spreadsheet from OMB, trying to decide whether a federal program has DEI elements or whether it gets in the way of energy production or any of the other qs, I would love to know how it's going. Signal below 👇
Anna Kramer@annackramer.bsky.social · 2y agoIf you work for a company, state govt, etc seriously affected by the federal funding freeze, or there is serious concern + confusion about effects, I’m reporting on this and want to talk. Same for the agencies — is it utter chaos? Are there key programs you’re worried about?
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s 2022 congressional campaign failed to disclose hundreds of thousands of illicit campaign contributions. To this day, she hasn’t paid back the money. www.notus.org/whitehouse/t...
Trump's White House Press Secretary Reveals Her Failed Campaign Spent $200K in Illicit Contributions
On Thursday, Karoline Leavitt’s failed congressional campaign amended every FEC filing it had ever made to reveal that she failed to disclose hundreds of thousands of dollars in excessive contribution...
notus.org
The day the Starbucks changes from the Christmas cups back to normal is my own personal “nature is healing.” The days are getting longer. The nights are getting shorter. The Masters is practically here.
On a scale of 1 - “Tiny Vessels”-to-“Transatlanticism,” “Nightswimming”-to-“Brick” is a 9. And if you can understand what I’m talking about, you are beautiful but you don’t mean a thing to me.
After Donald Trump got the Freedom Caucus to fold, there's some new hope that this may be the way for Republicans to govern: Chart out a path, accept the chaos and resistance, then have Trump twist arms. Some really interesting reporting in here: www.notus.org/congress/tru...
Trump Shows House Republicans the New Template for Governing
Trump ultimately pushed the speaker vote in Johnson’s direction. Now, the question is whether he can do that for legislation.
notus.org
Folks, you have to love the United States House of Representatives. www.notus.org/congress/hou...
House Freedom Caucus Denies Mike Johnson the Speakership on the First Ballot
It doesn’t look like Johnson will get the speakership without some more backroom dealing.
notus.org
Carter has passed. An accomplished man. A brilliant legacy. Although for many of us he died years ago when he refused to condemn, gamer gate
The quick shot of Kevin McCallister shoving fireworks into his backpack in 2 really is some Chekhov’s gun shit.
Just saw a group of 5 teen goths getting their photo taken with a real bearded Santa. Who said Mall Culture is dead?
Important shutdown development here: Democrats are publicly insisting that they're not coming back to the negotiating table on a spending deal, but if you listen carefully and talk to the right people... They're open to a narrower deal. www.notus.org/congress/dem...
Democrats Quietly Signal Openness to a Narrower Spending Deal
“Democrats need to stay here to vote and shut the fuck up,” Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove told NOTUS. “Stop revealing the game plan.”
notus.org
Can you imagine the Facebook posts if Barack Obama, a month before he took office, called for eliminating the debt ceiling on George W. Bush’s watch?
Immigration was a political loser for Democrats this election, even as the party adopted GOP positions on border security. Now, congressional Democrats are trying to figure out how to move forward on the issue—and if the lesson is to move further right. www.notus.org/congress/dem...
Democrats Wonder Whether the Lesson of 2024 Is to Shift Further to the Right on Border Security
“We saw what happens when we have a broken immigration system and people want to come to this country,” Rep. Salud Carbajal said. “It’s important to keep the asylum system in place, but one that works...
notus.org
This should be required reading for all incoming Members and staff. It explains a lot about how Congress actually works (or doesn't) currently. www.notus.org/congress/pos...
‘Postal-Naming Destruction’: The Least Controversial Thing Congress Does Is Becoming Controversial
More and more of what Congress does on a day-to-day basis is naming post offices. Some members want to end the practice.
notus.org
Glut of people viewing my Spotify Wrapped story on Instagram, dearth of people liking my Spotify Wrapped story on Instagram.
GOP senators aren't just open to Kash Patel leading the FBI, an agency he's said he'd like to shut down and reopen as a "museum to the Deep State"; many are enthusiastic about it. www.notus.org/congress/all...
All Senate Republicans Sound Open to Kash Patel. Many Are Enthusiastic About Him.
Kash Patel has said he’d like to “shut down” the FBI headquarters and reopen it as a “museum of the deep state.” But Patel’s vows are hardly sounding disqualifying for the Republican senators who will...
notus.org
My favorite part of Wicked was making everyone in my group discuss the parallels to fascism as we left the theater
Literally opened up Twitter, saw this Elon post at the top of my feed (despite never following the guy), and came straight over to Bluesky.
might fuck around and | 👀 | \ / ____| |_____ / ✊__/ \_✊ And post lyrics to Bon Iver’s seminal album, For Emma, Forever Ago.
Not to go too liberal arts on The Tragedy of Matt Gaetz, but the moment he realized he was not going to be Attorney General — his anagnorisis — he was probably sitting in some senator's office in the Hart building, surrounded by Republican staffers who didn't even vote for Trump.
A very damning story about Matt Gaetz: www.notus.org/trump-transi... (Do people click on links in Bluesky? I don’t know! This is a good story to try!)
Matt Gaetz May Have Just Killed the Ethics Report, but Court Filings Paint a Damning Picture
Unreported facts referenced in court depositions make it clear that Gaetz sent thousands to young women, attended sex parties where a 17-year-old was present and kept tabs on witnesses throughout the ...
notus.org
I’ve been on Twitter for so long that the Bluesky feed seems…alien. Where is all the conservative propaganda? Why am I not seeing all of Elon Musk’s dumb quote tweets? Where is Bella Hadid??